The Ordination of Fathers Leo M. Joseph and John Darcy Noble

The Ordination of Fathers Leo M. Joseph and John Darcy Noble

Bishop Thomas J. Fehérváry ordains Father Leo M. Joseph and Father John Darcy Noble to the Catholic priesthood at his chapel in Montreal, Quebec, on April 20, 1974, while Robert Mary Clement assists as liturgical deacon. Celebrated as the first two openly gay men to be ordained as Catholic priests without concealing their sexual orientation, Joseph and Noble would soon become central figures in the ministry of the Church of the Beloved Disciple in New York City. Their ordination by the Hungarian Mariavite Old Catholic bishop, whose apostolic succession traced through the Polish Mariavite Church, provided the sacramental foundation for a ministry dedicated to serving LGBTQ Christians. Less than six months later, Clement himself would be consecrated Bishop of New York, and together the three clergy would help build one of the earliest sacramental communities for gay and lesbian Christians in New York City.

Church of the Beloved Disciple Archive, https://beloved-disciple.com

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